With Adetunji Ayobrown
Our dear Nigeria is a country full of jesters and jokers; as there is no day or week that goes by without the populace being treated to kind of or taking to a drama stage, with two or more rib-cracking comedy and jokes. And interestingly, they were coming from no other place but from our leaders, our own Baba Salas and the Baba Suwes of our world. But if you ask an average Nigerian how they feel about these gratuitous dramas, they will prefer to like to follow the popular saying that, ‘he who laugh last will surely laugh best’.
As it is, a case of kettle calling pot black, no wonder when late Fela Anikulapo Kuti in one of his popular title said ‘teacher teacher oo, no be lecturer be your name, make you no teach me wetin I know’, a song that will continue to be relevant in and to our democracy maybe for long time to come. But, the question now is ‘who is the teacher and who is the student, between former President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ, and his ex-general counterpart, President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB over $16bn allegedly spent on darkness called light for Nigerians?
Interestingly, OBJ and PMB are the only two Nigerians that have served both as military heads of state and democratically elected presidents in Nigeria. It may be recalled that OBJ ruled Nigeria as military head of state from 1976-79 and later as president between 1999-2007 and President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB, the incumbent president ascended the Aso Rock throne of presidency since May 29, 2015 after serving also as the military head of state from 1983-5, yet the duos are yet to come up with tangible solutions to Nigeria’s numerous problems let alone electricity problems to say the least.
When OBJ wrote the President letters, political analysts differ, some called OBJ an opportunist, some said he is a patriot while others called him a sage, but whatever name you agree with it, if you ask me, it is ok…at least he should know and know better that an average Nigerian when it comes to provision of public amenities, we should forget.
OBJ has openly and publicly condemn PMB’s style of governance and policies, which some critical minds charmed that it is aimed at heating up the polity, but for PMB, he silently and cunningly denied OBJ the opportunity to raise the political temperature by restraining himself from responding to OBJ in kind. Not even a chance of a meeting at the request of OBJ.
But until recently, Buhari in his own response to these letters openly criticised OBJ and said he has many questions to answer over the $16 billion allegedly spent on power during his tenure between 1999 and 2007 without any tangible improvement in electricity generation and supply across Nigeria. And you know, OBJ for whom he is, responded adequately. Baba Iyabo accused Buhari of being ignorant, saying he is ready for probe any day and anytime.
Don’t blame any of these actors, if we can’t at least, have regular electricity supply, Nigerians should be at least know the truth, what the truths are, though we not interested in comedians call elders at the highest level of the country’s leadership. Whether it temporarily cast away our sorrows or make us forget about them all together is not what we really need but constant and stable electricity even if we are to get it from the sun.
Since our lives depend and revolves round mostly power and electricity supply, I wondered what could be going through the mind of my MD/Editor-in-Chief each and every time he had to pay for fuel to power our office and like many other Nigerians that depend solely on the public supply of electricity, when the idea of this write-up came to me, all thanks to the almighty IBEDC that had thrown my office at Asa Dam and my residence along Ilorin International Airport Road, into total darkness, pardon me, it would have been better detailed.
No wonder, a table of cankerworms was set for the likes of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose to feast, and in his own gestural manner said ‘I’m enjoying this’ as he mocks the duo.
Governor Fayose who has issues to settle with each of them took to Twitter handle to mock both men who go into history as the only ones to have presided over Nigeria twice each.
But, give it to the Ekiti Governor, before he warned that those who brought Buhari will regret entrusting him with power, and he never fail to show it.
He wants them to continue disclosing what they know about each other, but if you ask me, it is an ugly public spat between our so-called elders and leaders which must not be classified as a laughing matter. Instead, the populace should try all legitimate means (voting and defending our democracy) to force our leaders in putting in place the needed public infrastructure, because, we have no other life to live and we have no other place to call our country, but Nigeria. Constant, regular and adequate electricity supply is a must and should have been classified as one of the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians, the country cannot grow pass its level power supply.
With the likes of Egbin power station that operates on gas-fired steam turbine with 1320 MW as its capacity, located in Lagos state, Kainji hydro-electric station that has an installed generating capacity of 760MW completed in 1968 located in Niger state with Jebba and Shiroro power stations with an installed generating capacity of 576.8MW and 600MW respectively are all in Niger and many other stations scattered across Nigeria, still human and machines in our country are still suffering from electricity inadequacies.
With all said and done, it gladdens my heart and Kwarans have the course to laugh in knowing and see that out of all Independent Power Plants (IPP) that were supposed to be nationwide, the 330KVA located in Ganmo, Kwara state was awarded, fully executed, commissioned and still working till date…all thanks to immediate past administration of Bukola Saraki.
*Ayobrown, Senior System Analyst, National Pilot Newspaper, writes via [email protected]
